The Quest of the Anachronism
by setsunari
Summary: Winter Rose Brimnings's wish finally came true on her sixteenth birthday; to go to beautiful Europe. All she wanted was to have a relaxing escape from reality... But little did Winter know that she would travel back through time, meet a peculiar famed but young journalist, and have an adventure of her own; one that she had never even dared to dream of.
1. Chapter 1 The Year 1946

Heyo!

_**Note **_ So I re-wrote this chapter. I mixed chapters one and two together, since the first one was too short. They don't seem too good. If you see this, and you've only read my older version, check this out!

And as for the new readers, _bonjour_, and welcome! It seems that you have stumbled onto this story (or fanfiction, however you call it) and I hope you will have a wonderful journey with Tintin and his crew. Do mind to review, also.

_Enjoy._

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><p>(This bold paragraph was from the previous original first chapter I wrote, but I wanted to keep it for fun. You guys could skip this part if you want to- it's unnecessary.)<p>

_**The autumn leaves silently gliding and falling to its destination, the twitters and the jubilation of the birds, flitting from one tree to another, and the distant chattering of the people enjoying their break in exquisite cafés; now who wouldn't want to go to Europe?**_

_**But many would think. Why would a naïve girl want to be in Europe? Shouldn't she want to have a car, since she was almost sixteen, or go to the mall and 'hang out' with her friends? No, Winter was different. She wanted to have a concept of what beautiful and elegant art was like; Italy, Paris, Spain… Oh, the wonders! The golden silence as she madly sketched away, walking to one place after another, taking pictures along the way… Now, the reader would think she would have a lead to a dead, monotonous life; but would she?**_

_**But she always thought of living an adventurous life. She would daydream about discovering hidden treasure, to go on dangerous expeditions, to have a companion to travel with her; a budgie, perhaps. She already had one, and it was at home in California, priming its sky-blue feathers and squawking away happily. But those thoughts and dreams were hastily waved away by school. All of the homework, tests, and grades kept her busy.**_

_**Considering she was lazy, her parents became demanding. "I didn't raise you to become stupid!" They would say. So, trying not to disappoint them, Winter would try to focus on work. But she would eventually dose off and daydream once more.**_

_**Little did she know that there would be one day where she would have an expedition of her own...**_

__-x-

Winter Rose Brimnings had recieved everything she wanted for her birthday; well, her early birthday. To travel to the beautiful and famed Europe. She and her family (mother, father, and fellow older sister) conflicted over where to go in that grand continent. They thought of going to France, Paris at first, but Winter mentioned to them again that it was _her_ birthday, and she had the utter right to choose. She then stated that Paris was a city with too many tourists and such, and wanted a more quiet and peaceful place. Winter pointed out on the map and stood certain on her decision; Brussels, Belgium. Her mother and father groaned and moped at that, since they had never heard of it, but she politely begged them to agree, but the old couple finally gave in. Her sister didn't give much attention to it, and was watching soap operas and dramas on television during the wordy war of her family. They had asked for her opinion at one point, but she, with another chorus of moans and groans, said, "As long as there are shopping malls there, I am _very _happy to say yes."

They caught a plane in economy class, and dragged their luggage to a warm and sunny alley containing rows of apartments snuggled up against each other. Her mother unfolded a piece of paper that was tucked into her pocket and darted her eyes at every door. Winter heard her mumble and caught faint numbers. "Twenty-two, twenty-four… Finally! Twenty-six!"

Winter sighed in relief and dashed to the dark emerald door. "Twenty-six Labradour Road… And to think it would look a bit better!" Her mother said exasperatedly, ringing her hands in the air. "Er, I don't think it's that bad. We've got the whole building to ourselves…" Winter replied, taking the keys from her father who was observing a faraway water fountain. She carefully unlocked the door, as the doorknob looked so delicate because of its old age, and slipped in quietly.

Winter's dark chocolate brown eyes first laid itself on the staircase leading to the upper floor. An entrance to her right had no door, and was seemingly the kitchen. "Seems like they remodeled this place… Nothing looks as old as the door." She said out loud to herself, but was interrupted by her sister's frightening shrill. "MUUUM! A SPIDER! A SPIDER! OH, QUICKLY CATCH IT; IT'S OVER THERE, RIGHT THERE IN THE CORNER…" Winter whipped around to see what had happened, and her sister was cowering behind her mother. She then followed the direction of their gaze and saw a small black daddy long-leg, who was standing innocently still as a rock. "Oh, for crying out loud Michelle, it's harmless." Winter explained, grabbing a nearby broom that was dusty. She walked over to the left corner (causing a high squeak from her sister) and gently scooped it up, bringing it outside to the cement. The thin spider took slow steps with its eight long legs at first, but then quickly scurried away under water drain.

"One day, you're going to get infected by those horrible, retched, _things._" Michelle said, shivering at the thought of a four inch wide and hairy spider. Winter rolled her eyes as she settled the broom back to its home in the cupboard under the stairs. She noticed a dark black blob hidden between the cracks, and finally realized that it was a mother spider (heaven knows what kind) with dozens of other small creepy-crawly offspring. 'Michelle's going to get a fright when she sees this!' Winter thought, cackling darkly to herself as she pushed back the small door holding the house supplies.

"Winter, help me bring in the luggage and stop standing around!" Her mother yelled, hauling the bags from the entrance.

"I'm coming, mum, I'm coming…" She said, jogging to her father and helping him with a particular heavy one. Winter took one last glance at the soothing sun, exhaled deeply, and heaved the last luggage inside, closing the door behind them.

-x-

"Amazing, Winter, at how you can get sick on our second day of vacation. You haven't even turned sixteen yet!" The woman blared, crossing her arms. Winter was lying in bed, eyes droopy, and an occasional cough or two was produced. Her father nodded in agreement, and her sister Michelle was as ready as ever to go to the nearby mall. Winter eyed them warily and waved a hand. "You guys could go, you know. I could stay at home."

Winter's mother sighed and frowned at her stubborn daughter. "…Fine. If you get hungry, there's bread and canned sausages in the blue luggage. The utensils are in the pocket of the backpack," She rummaged through Winter's worn out bag which was a hand-me-down from her sister. "And keep your phone with you at all times in case there's an emergency. And do NOT go outside. This place is not safe for your age. Do you understand, Winter Rose?" She nodded in reply and flopped over, turning her back to her family indicating that she was going to sleep. Winter heard a low sigh and her father ushering Michelle and her mother down the stairs. The familiar and faint 'thump' of the door was heard, and her eyes slowly closed, not noticing the peculiar air that was visibly warping around her.

Several hours past, and the repeated chimes of the grandfather clock reminded the still objects in the old house that it was precisely two o' clock. Winter woke up and yawned, not minding to put her hand to her mouth (her mother said to do as of manners) and glanced at the time. Muffling a few coughs, she sat up and looked around. 'This must have been the living room for the second floor; this floor also must have been one flat.' She thought, walking out of the bed and to the smaller room on her right. 'And this must have been the workroom.'

Imprints of furniture were scattered around the floor. There was a big rectangle right in front of her feet, indicating that there was once a desk. Around the walls indentations of all shapes and sizes, which were probably picture frames and portraits. A window was right in front of her, showing the blazing orb high and distant in the sky, towering over the aged rooftops. Winter sighed contently, causing another fit of coughs, and she walked out to the stairs. She faced up, looking at the blocked path of the third floor. "Wonder why they blocked this…" Winter thought out loud, running her hand on the wood. She began to walk around the house, observing her surroundings. Winter eventually became bored and sat on the old wooden chair in the kitchen. Laying her head on the table, she sighed once again and suppressed another cough inching up her throat. Winter then had a mischievous thought. 'Should I go explore outside?' She then shook her head furiously, thinking of what her mother would say if she found out.

'Mom already told you not to go outside… But maybe if I only go for a bit! Maybe…'

Winter grabbed her phone lying on the desk next to the bed and dashed down the stairs, not noticing the workroom she had just been in. It was strangely full of furniture, all neat and tidy as if nothing had been moved. Opening the door and locking it with her key, she admired the antique with a faded golden tint and a design of a four leaf clover on top. "How pretty…" She mumbled, stuffing it in her jean pocket.

Winter walked down the cobbled street, bringing her hands into the oversized grey jacket. Winter's long, dark chestnut hair flew restlessly in the soft breeze, each ripple of light in every bounce of the straight strands reappearing in the golden sunlight.

Even though two o'clock was known as the hottest time of the day, (the sun that was shining above proved it) the air was still cold as ever. Winter could see her breath, every one forming a tiny cloud. She coughed a few times and rubbed her palms together, uselessly trying to produce heat. Feeling the cream barrette slowly slipping off her hair, she re-clipped it neatly to the side, preventing any flyaway to fall onto her face.

Distant voices began to echo around the curb, and a small smile appeared. "There's probably a market today… It's a Saturday after all."

Winter trotted happily down the sidewalk, humming a merry tune to herself. Not looking ahead, she accidentally bumped into someone and fell bottom first. Winter groaned, rubbing her behind and looked up. A woman around her mid-thirties patted the front of her grand violet dress and locked her eyes on Winter's. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention-"

"You speak English? Wonderful… But are you alright, child? Do stand; you're attracting much attention…" The woman said, offering a gloved hand. Winter then noticed something. She stared at the lady in front of her wide-eyed, mind-boggled. The woman looked like as if from the nineteen-fifties, with a grand dress and fashionable bonnet. "Er, thank you, miss…" Winter answered nervously, taking the hand.

Winter froze, looked around, and her heart stopped. The road, which was empty a few seconds ago, was suddenly bustling with many people. What was more surprising was that everyone was wearing suits and dresses, similar to the woman who she was interacting to.

"Child! Get out of the way!"

A red Microcar honked repetitively, vrooming towards her as fast as lightning. Winter shrieked uncontrollably and jumped out right at the nick of time, falling on her behind once again. "Oh goodness…! Child, are you okay? My, my, French men these days… Here, let me help you." The woman bent down to help her up, causing the white bonnet to slip off. Straight ebony hair tumbled down the lady's back, contrasting to her pale white skin. Winter looked up at her in awe, seeing those grey, stormy eyes. The young teenage girl noted to herself how beautiful the female looked; she had a tall structure and an exaggerated hourglass figure, and the dress hugged her waist tightly, frilling out at the bottom. "I… erm… thank you, miss."

Winter picked up the hat and handed it back to the owner. "Misses, girl. I am a married woman. Are you a tourist here?"

"…Yes, actually. How did you know?" Winter asked, arching an eyebrow. The woman giggled, bringing an elegant hand to her mouth. "You're the only one so far who I know that can speak English; besides my butler…"

A man in a black tailcoat marched next to the lady and puffed out his chest, looking straight ahead. The lady then widened her eyes in remembrance. "Ah! I just remembered. I ask… Where exactly is this place? I was hoping I was in France." She said, bringing a hand up to cup a cheek. "Erm… I think this is Brussels, Mrs."

"Mrs. Lloyd, mind you. Ah! Brussels. I knew we were somewhere in Belgium…" Mrs. Lloyd began to trail off her sentence and observe Winter. "…Winter Rose, are you from Britain?" She nodded her head. "Well, I grew up in London until I was seven, and I moved to America after." Winter arched an eyebrow again. "Is it because of my accent?"

Mrs. Lloyd laughed merrily, waving a hand. "Yes, yes. Well, at least I'm not the only one from Britain. I must go now, child. Farewell." The woman began to walk away, flicking a finger to tell the butler to come along, until Winter yelled back. "Mrs. Lloyd, may I ask what year this is?" The lady glanced back, but kept striding over to a white car.

"It's nineteen forty-six, Winter Rose!"

And with that, the shiny and silver car drove away, leaving Winter dumbfounded. "Nineteen… for… ty… six…" She mumbled, scratching her head in anxiety. Winter gazed at her surroundings in horror. Mrs. Lloyd was right; no phones or similar modern technology were out, the cars were old models that she usually saw at museums, and everyone was dressed strangely. She groaned, moving to a nearby bench to sit on it. 'It can't be, though… _How did I get back into time_?'

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><p>Ugh, I know this took so long to get posted, but don't lose hope guys! I'm off from school this WHOLE week! Woot woot! Let's hope for more chapters!<p>

Anyways, as I always say,

See you on chapter two! ;)


	2. Chapter 2 The Peculiar Boy and Riddle

Heyo!

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS SO FAR AND LATER ON. You guys are the best, and I also hope that everyone has a Happy New Year! Or at least survive it.

Note: I have not re-written this chapter yet. So if you are a bit confused at parts (such as when Tintin suddenly carries Winter back to his apartment; it's because there was a man who was about to kidnap her and used chloroform) I'm sorry! I will update this chapter somewhere around this week.

Now, on with the story!

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><p>Tintin painfully carried the unconscious stranger back to his apartment, ignoring the searing pain crawling in his arm. He carefully placed her on the bed and pulled his blanket over her as the sullen night came with the freezing cold. Tintin, as clever as he was, took out a first-aid kit and carefully took care of his wound. He used the medical tweezers to pull out the metal bullet while muffling his grunts of pain and washed it clean. The terrier wined at his feet, clearly worried about his owner, and Tintin smiled and patted his head.<p>

"Don't worry, Snowy. I'm alright; see, look! Good as new." Tintin exclaimed, flexing his muscles. But of course, it was still painful to do so, and he bit his bottom lip to try to hide the pain.

Snowy yapped in delight and ran to the girl just as she woke up.

Winter felt dizzy; when she opened her eyes, all she saw were stars and a bundle of white and curly fur. She blinked a few more times in attempt to receive her full vision, and saw the same dog that she ran into just a while ago, nuzzling its nose into her face. Winter giggled and raised a weak hand to maneuver herself upwards, carrying the dog in the other.

She tried recollected her memories, which resulted in another headache.

Tintin heard rustling and soft melodic laughing, and quickly turned around. The girl was scratching Snowy's ears and whispering something he couldn't quite make out. He hesitantly spoke up, as he realized he was alone… with a _girl_.

"Emm… _Etes-vous d'accord?_"

Winter instantly snapped her head up, causing a pelting pain down her spine. She yelped, and rubbed her back while staring at the boy.

"Huh?" She said, dumbfounded. He stared at her back, not moving a single muscle.

"_Parlez-vous français_?" Tintin said, reluctantly taking a step closer.

Winter looked at him with alarm, figuring out who this familiar boy was; Tintin. She had seen him on commercials of the movie 'Secret of the Unicorn' back in her time; but it was computer-animated. Now he was, well… real-looking. She always thought the movie was a bit childish at the first look. So she never watched it, despite all of the praises of how amazing and exciting it was.

Tintin furrowed his eyebrows. 'Now what language does she speak? She certainly doesn't speak French…' He thought. Trying to find the best solution, he quickly glanced at her once more and observed her features.

'A bit Asian looking, with the pale skin and such…' He thought as a matter-of-factly. But she didn't have the slanted and small eyes like his close friend Chang did. He gave it a try.

"_Nàme nǐ shuō zhōngguó huà ma_?" He said, hope glistening in his eyes.

Winter stared; clearly noticing how anticipated he looked. She shook her head, and cleared her throat.

"Um… I can speak English." She whispered. She noticed her voice was hoarse: she was in need of water.

As an imaginary light bulb flashed over his head, he clapped his hands, and opened his mouth in an 'O'.

"Ah! Knew that… So, are you feeling well, miss? Do you need a glass of water?" Tintin said, adding a smile.

"Yes, please." She said, looking at his back while he was fetching the cup. "Thank you for saving me earlier. I owe you one."

He paused for a moment, as if soaking in the stranger's appreciation.

"Oh no, it's alright. If my dog Milou didn't run away earlier, you would have been in that truck by now. You should thank him…" Tintin said, tilting the pitcher on the glass. "The name's Tintin. Pleasure to meet you."

He stiffly whipped around, put the cup on the desk next to the bed, and held out his hand. She shook it, and gratefully reached the cup of water.

"Um, my name is Winter. Winter Rose Brimnings, to be exact."

The room became awkwardly silent, with the only sounds of sipping water echoing and hurdling around the room. In attempt to loosen up the atmosphere, Winter spoke.

"Ahem… Oh, I forgot to thank Snowy! Wait, you called him Milou… Thank you very much, Milou! You're such a good boy! …Um, girl or boy, Tintin?" She asked, embarrassed, cuddling the small terrier. Winter looked up at Tintin, who was intently staring at his golden watch that bound his wrist. "Erm… Are you with me right now, Tintin?"

He converted his eyes to Winter's and whipped his arms behind his back, causing the most magnificent pain anyone could ever imagine. He cried out a quiet 'Oh, mon dieu!' and grasped his arm.

"Did you hurt your arm, Tintin?" She said, craning her neck to see what had happened.

"It's fine, I just need to bind it…" He mumbled, striding across the room to grab a white roll of cloth. He unrolled it, and attempted to use one hand to wrap the wound that started to bleed again. That strategy failed horribly though, as the roll dropped from his hand and ran to her side. Winter laughed uncontrollably, jumped out of bed, and carried the stowaway back to the rightful owner.

"Hold out your arm. I'll do it."

Tintin looked at Winter in horror. She sighed, and grabbed his arm.

"I've never done this in my life. Tell me if it hurts."

The injury was horrible; blood was literally pouring from it, and it was probably _very _deep. She looked back up at Tintin, who was a head taller than her.

"Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital or something? It's pretty serious." She said, cautiously touching the edges of the wound. He flinched and let out a little 'hiss' as he grabbed his arm from a clearly obvious pain. "Yup. I think you need to go to a hospital."

"I'm fine! I could take it… And the hospital is just a waste of money. They just clean it and wrap it, and then 'walaa!', they take your months' worth of salary." He said, while nudging his arm for her to wrap it.

She shrugged her shoulders, and bound his arm tightly but carefully as he suddenly remembered. He reached into his pants pocket, and pulled out a scrap of paper.

"When the kidnapper fled, he left this behind. We need to decipher it." He said, giving it to Winter as she finished off with a knot. She reached to grab it, and read the contents while a crescent descended onto her eyebrows.

_**The Anachronism**_

UGC UAG GUA O CGC CUA AUU UCG UAA AAA CGA UGU UAG CAG CAU UUA AUA UGU CUG CGA UCA AUC GAA CCU UGC CUU AUU GUA AGC ACA CUC CUC GUA CAC ACU AAA CCA ACC GUA GGC CGC GAA CGA AUA CUA CGU ACU CGG UAU AAA CUU GCU O GUU CAG UCC CUA UAU ACC UGG CGU CGA ACC AAA UCU UGG CGU CUG UGC UUG AUU UAA ACC UAA AUC AAA UCA CUU UUU ACU UAG CUC UGC ACU GUA O AUA CGC AUC UUG ACU AAA CUG CUC UAG AUU UGA UUG CUG ACU CUG AUC CUU ACU . UGG ACU B GUA AUG AUA CUU CGU UGC AUC CUU O ACC ACU UUU CGC CUG CUA AUG ACC CGA AUC O UGC B AUA CGU CGA CUG ACU ACG AAA CUC UUU AUU UUG _ O CGC UGU UUA AUC AAA CUU CGA O AUU UGG B O CGA CUG AAA ACG AGC AUC CAG CUU UGU CGC UGC GUG CUA ACC CUU CGA O ACU B UGC AAA UCU CGU O UAG CUU U CUG ACC UCC CAG GAG AUU CAC ACC ACA UGA ACU O GGG U UCU CCA CGC UUA CGA ACG CUU AAA CUC UCU GAG AUA UCA CUG CGG ACU AUU CUG ACC U O UAG AUU CUA AAU UCU AUU GAA O CGC AUU AAA UUU B AUU GUA CUC ACC CUG AUC ACA UAA UGG AUU CUG GUC GAA GUU CUU UGC UUG AUU CUC ACC CUG AUU CGC CUC AUA UAU UCA ACC UAG UGU O GUG UAU ACU GCU UUA UUG CGU GAA AUG UGG CGC UUG UAG CGG UUU O U UGC UUG UGU GUG ACU GGG AUA UGA CCC UAH O CUC O AUU CGG AUU AGU UGC ACC CUU ACC AUU CUC UAG AUU UUU O AUU_

CGA ULU CGU GLG UCS

"What the hell is this…?" Winter whispered, scratching her head. "But it looks kind of familiar."

She suddenly snapped her head to Tintin, and he eyed her curiously.

"Do you know how to solve this?" He asked.

"Er… no. But what do you mean 'we' have to decipher it? I need to figure out a way to go home-" She abruptly stopped in mid-sentence and snapped her fingers in the air.

"Dude, you need to help me travel home. I don't even know what the fuck had happened! I caught a cold, and then I was lying in bed until it was weirdly quiet… So I went out and walked around to have a look, and then everyone was suddenly wearing 1950's clothing! And then that dipshit man had to come over and ruin my already ruined day and try to kidnap-"

She was cut off midsentence by Tintin grabbing her shoulders.

"Just tell me what you think happened to you." He said under a low voice. "Calm down."

Her worried expression changed to a frown, and slowly changed her view of Tintin down to her shoes. She gulped nervously, and spit the truth out.

"I… I think I went back through time."

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><p>"I think this is fitting! You going through time, a person trying to kidnap you, this isn't all just a coincidence… C'mon, we need to go. Milou, up! Up! Allons, Milou!"<p>

He swiped on his cream-colored coat and held the door for Winter.

"Where are we going?" She asked. "And can I borrow one of your sweaters? My clothes got dirty."

He looked at her from top to bottom, and nodded in approval. "Yes, you could. And I think we should get you a skirt, too. Girls don't wear pants often, and especially tight ones, at that. We need to hurry!"

She gave him a smile and a curved eyebrow, and rushed to the closet. She realized that she hadn't told him about how he was popular in her time. Not just in theatres, but also on the internet. Facebook, Tumblr… almost everyone was talking about it. Now she thought about it, she agreed with the others that his features were alright. Eyes the color of blue snow and rosy cheeks both complimented each other. His height was a little shorter than average, but she wondered about his body build.

'He must be delicate and thin…' She thought, letting out a snort as she was slipping on an oversized light-blue sweater. Of course, she was careful and checked Tintin if he was wearing the same, but he wore a yellow polo shirt and a tie.

"Okay, I'm done. Where are we going again?" Winter said, walking out the entrance. Milou pawed at her feet, and she picked up the small dog. "You haven't told me if Milou was a male or female yet, you know."

He closed the door behind them, took out a key from his coat pocket, and locked the door.

"He's a male. And we're going to my friend's house. He's Captain Haddock, and he lives at Marlinspike Hall. But first, we need to get a proper skirt for you. I know a girl named Betty that knows all about fashion! She's the librarian, so we'll go get her."

She gave him a glance and an 'mm-hmm', freed Milou, and carefully stepped down the stairs. She saw the sunlight pouring in, and instantly realized that this was the place she stayed at before she plunged through time.

As she touched the brass doorknob, an unknown feeling crossed her mind. It wasn't a bad feeling though. She felt that the second she opened the door and stepped out, she would have a whole new exciting adventure just hungrily waiting for her. A smirk crept onto her face, and she turned around.

Tintin was still on the stairs trying to capture the escaped terrier, and noticed Winter. He saw the smirk, and couldn't help but smirk back.

"Hurry up Tintin! You're so slow."

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><p>Did you guys like it? Tell me what you think! And the next chapter will be longer than this one. I promise. YOU GUYS, in the next chapter, I think you'll know what Betty's reaction of a girl with Tintin is. And, Captain Haddock comes in! Yay! But, of course, there will be many other original characters too.<p>

_**PLEASE REVIEW YOU GUYS! :DDDD**_

See you in chapter three!


	3. Chapter 3 The Smoked Taxi

HEYO.

**_PLEASE READ!- I have re-written the bottom of this chapter since it seemed to sudden. I will update the next one by tomorrow, so pardon me! _**

Please review you guys! Criticism is welcome!

* * *

><p>"Tintin, look at this pattern. I remember it from somewhere! I swear! Something relating to science… Or history. Or mathematics…" Winter trailed off her sentence as she leapt into deep thought. "Three letters… codon… CODON! Tintin, do you know what codons are?"<p>

She jumped in excitement, and Tintin rubbed his chin. "I've… never heard of them, actually. What are they?"

She looked at him, astonished by his answer. "Well… a codon is the three-code sequence for DNA. You do know what DNA is, right?" Winter said, raising an eyebrow. He frowned, and faint creases rippled across his forehead.

"Never heard of that either… what subject are those related to?" He asked, looking at Winter with a confused expression. She stared, eyes wide open.

'Does that mean this year is when they didn't discover DNA yet? Oh goodness, then the codons don't work…' She thought. Her happiness began to subside, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Nevermind. False alarm. Do you have any idea of what this code is though?" She said, giving him the scrap of paper. He reached out an arm to grab it, and studied the contents.

"I have no clue… _yet._ I know someone who probably knows a little about this. But we need to go to the library first to find Betty-" He was cut off midsentence by a soft tug at his pants. Milou barked and turned his body towards a building.

"Ah, and here we are!"

It was a huge three story. The front had a bronze statue of an angel in which was blindfolded, and was curiously feeling its way towards a feathered arrow. The windows were fancily structured, with multiple colors splattered on. The doors were grand, too. The handles were neatly carved, each telling its own story.

"Winter, let's go in. Milou, up!" The snow-white terrier leapt into Tintin's arms, and once again, he held the door for Winter. "The library _is_ a beauty, huh?"

She was still mesmerized by the wonderful colors of the windows, and was unknowingly gaping her mouth. A small smile faintly appeared on Tintin's face, and he shook his head. He walked up to her and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her away.

"We don't have all day, Winter! You can stare all you like when we figure out this stupid thing." He said, waving the paper. Winter sighed in defeat, and followed him in.

Meanwhile, Betty Davis was cleaning up her desk. It was cluttered with all sorts of books and papers, and some of them escaped to the ground.

"UGH! I knew I shouldn't have taken this job- Oh! Bonjour, Tintin!" Betty noticed him walking in, and she brightened up. But as soon as she saw him holding an unfamiliar girl's arm, she ran over to him.

Winter was looking at them with confusion. They were talking in French, and she was left out. She suddenly felt like she was a ten-year old again, and squirmed out of Tintin's grasp, walking towards the never-ending lanes of books.

"Hey! Winter, where are you going? I need to introduce you!" He said.

She stopped walking and turned around, giving him a death-glare. He stepped back in surprise, and she stomped back, fuming.

"I thought you were perfectly fine on your own, Tintin!" She faced the other girl, and gave a warm smile. "Hello. My name is Winter Rose Brimnings. And you are…?"

Winter studied the girl. She was exactly Tintin's height, and had a posture of a ballerina. Auburn hair tumbled down her shoulders and to her waist in rich, curly locks. She wore a pencil skirt, which was a bit higher and revealing than Winter expected it to be. She was crossing her arms, hinting at her fair bosom. Her face had an elegant touch; high, aristocratic cheeks, a tall nose, piercing emerald eyes, red-as-a-rose- and thin lips… She was an ideal beauty.

"My name is Betty Davis. How old are you?" She replied with a strong accent, raising her head. She began to clutch to Tintin's arm.

Winter looked at both of them. They were, of course, an ideal couple. "I'm sixteen."

She laughed gracefully, and lowering her hand to pinch Winter's cheek. Betty was indeed tall.

"You're still a bud compared to us. We're already seventeen, darling! Now, what did you come here for, Tintin?" Betty said, batting her eyelashes.

Winter glared at her in disgust. 'Was she trying to mock me? Goddamn, that mother fucking bitch…' she thought, balling her fists.

"Um, we're here because we need you to pick out a skirt for her. I don't know where to go to get one, and Winter's new here. Do you mind?" He said, trying to wriggle out of her grasp.

Betty's eyes lit up, hearing about fashion. "Of course I don't mind! Now let's go, I know _exactly_ where to go…"

He broke into a big smile, and dimples formed on either side of his face. "That's great! Allons, Milou!"

He ran out the door, leaving Winter and Betty alone. Betty's smile turned to a frown, and she looked down at Winter. Winter looked back, giving a 'what do you want now?' stare.

"Winter Rose. What an unusual name, hmm?" Betty said, folding her arms.

"Erm… sure?" Winter replied, scratching her head. Betty bent down to Winter's ear, and whispered in a deathly tone.

"If you ever think of taking away my dear Tintin, you will _not_ have a grand ending. Do you hear me, Ms. Winter Rose?"

Betty recoiled back, and gave a serious glare. She began to walk away until Winter spoke up.

"Don't bitch around with me Betty. I don't give a single damn if you like Tintin to that extent. Go ahead, you can have him. I didn't have any intention of falling in love with him." She said angrily.

Betty just stood there, and didn't turn around or say a single word. She just began to walk again. The _tap, tap, tap _of her heels echoed around the quiet library, and Winter followed her out.

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><p>"Here. This dress fits you. And wear this 'sloppy Joe'." Betty said, throwing them to Winter. She caught them alarmingly, and looked at them. It was a plain but cute mint-colored dress, reaching down to her knees. The sleeves were puffed and ended at her elbows, tightened with two pearl buttons. Betty then threw a white blouse, which had a rounded and ruffled peter pan collar. She picked up the 'sloppy Joe' from the chair next to her. It was a vintage cream color, and had puffed sleeves and ended at the elbow, matching the dress.<p>

"Thank you, Betty. These are cute!" Winter said, giving a small smile. Betty was looking through a bin filled with shoes, and grunted in response.

Winter was escorted to a fitting room by an employee, and she put on the blouse. She then wore her dress. The color complimented her, and she was happy. She decided to just let the oversized cardigan lay on her shoulders, and refused to slip on the sleeves.

"Winter Rose, are you in there?"

Winter heard Betty, and pulled back the curtains. Betty looked at Winter in surprise. "You look nice in that dress. Now, wear these, and you're done." She handed over a pair of brown Oxford shoes and white bobby socks. She slipped the ankle socks on, and then the shoes. They didn't have high heels, and Winter was glad. She never once had balanced in those awful heels.

"Do you want me to curl your hair too? Perhaps a braid will make you look better." Betty said. Winter shook her head and gave a polite "no thanks."

"Goodbye. Tell Tintin that I want to stay back here to talk with my friend. Oh, and I threw away your old clothes; they look disgusting."

Winter waved back and walked out of the store, holding her phone.

"Whew! I almost forgot about it…" She mumbled, slipping it in her cardigan pocket. She suddenly remembered that Betty threw away Tintin's sweater.

'Oh well, too lazy to come back and get it…' She thought, unconcerned. Winter spotted Tintin sitting outside of a coffee shop, reading a newspaper. She jogged towards him, and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He turned around, and looked at Winter in astonishment.

"You look nice, Winter! Betty does have nice style… And here, I bought a cup of coffee for you. It'll warm you up." He said. He noticed she was still shivering, so he took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. She looked at him in surprise and was about to take it off, but Tintin raised a hand and shook his head. "I'm not cold."

She looked at him suspiciously, thinking that he was going to freeze, but shrugged her shoulders and snuggled into the coat.

'Smells like cinnamon…' She thought, taking a huge whiff. She then drank a portion of the coffee, and scrunched her nose because of the bitter taste.

"Taxi! Taxi! C'mon Winter, let's go." He said, grabbing Milou. A yellow taxi came along, and they both climbed in. "_Moulinsart, s'il vous plait!_" Tintin yelled. There was a thick glass window separating the taxi driver and the passenger seat. The man nodded, and the car started to move.

It began to become silent in the car, with the only sounds of the roaring engine and Milou's panting. Winter was looking out her window until she turned over to Tintin to talk. But as soon as she laid her eyes on him, she noticed how peaceful he looked. She mentally told herself of how Tintin's eyes were actually a soft grey-green instead of blue if she looked closely. His cheeks were permanently rosy, which was unusual for a boy. He had the faintest splash of freckles that spotted on his cheekbones and nose; barely noticeable. As she was staring at him, Tintin felt eyes on his face and tore his own away from the taxi driver, turning to Winter.

"Do you want something, Winter?" He asked monotonously. She stiffened and perked her head up, realizing what she had done.

"Oh! Erm, sorry. I just wanted to talk to you, but you looked so... well, peaceful." She said, playing with the ruffles of her dress. "...Sorry."

He saw how helpless she looked and smiled, the dimples kicking in. Tintin welcomed Milou on his lap, and spontaneously petted the small terrier. "It's alright."

He looked at Winter, who was still fiddling with her dress. "I always wondered what the future would be like." She glanced at him, and stopped moving her hands. "Well... It's just like now. Except the technology's better and stuff. See, I have this thing with me..." She fumbled through her cardigan and pulled out her phone. She handed it over to Tintin, who had an expression of curiosity written all over his face. He slid the phone open, causing the light to turn on. Winter just stared at it, remembering about her life in the present. She felt homesick now, and was on the verge of tears but held it back.

"Wow... These devices are small!" He started to play with the touch screen, and pressed on the 'Games' button. Confused, Tintin was trying to play 'Diner Dash'. He licked his lips in concentration and furrowed his eyebrows. Winter softened her eyes at this sight, noting at how childish Tintin could be at times, and how mature he could be also. An unexpected "What?" sounded, and he thumped his hands on the seats and pouted.

"Seems like you lost the game, huh?" Winter said, crossing her arms in amusement. Tintin widened his eyes and turned red. He quickly gave the phone back to her and went back to pet Milou, attempting to cover his face by facing down. She bursted out laughing, clutching her stomach in agony. "Oh my god... You," She stopped to take a breath. "You look so cute-"

Silence. Tintin looked at her weirdly and tilted his head.

"UH, I MEAN, UM, YOU LOOKED FUNNY-"

"Winter, shush." Tintin looked outside, and felt that something was wrong. Winter shut her mouth, clamping Milou's as well. They seemed to be going to an unfamiliar direction, so he knocked on the window to notify the driver. Suddenly, metal plates began to close all of the windows.

"Hey! HEY! Darn it… Winter, I think we just jumped into our enemy's car…" Tintin said, feeling his way towards the handle of the door. It was pitch black, and he finally touched the metal bar. Locked. "You don't say!" Winter retorted. A 'ssshhhhh' sound appeared, and Winter held on to Tintin's arm.

"Shit! It's gas, Winter! Get down!" He yelled. He pushed her down and laid on top of her, covering her face. Winter held her breath, clutching onto Tintin's hand. A few minutes passed, and the sound started to subside. Tintin spoke up. "Don't… smell it…" He trailed off, and the hand on her face went limp.

"Tintin? Tintin! Oh god, Tintin… Wake up!" She said, shaking him. "Don't faint on me! C'mon!"

The gas began to reach her, and she couldn't hold her breath any longer. Winter's vision began to blur, and she was enveloped into darkness.

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><p>A throbbing pain ensued, and Winter groaned loudly, trying to bring her hand up to her head. Wide awake now, she began to struggle and realized that her hands were tied together, as well as her feet. The room she was in was dark, and it took a while for her eyes to adjust. "Tintin... Are you there?" She saw a lump on her right side, and another smaller lump on her left. The one she took for Tintin began to stir and moan. "Ugh... Is that you, Winter?" She brightened up, hearing the familiar voice. "Yup. Do you have a plan of getting out here?"<p>

He whistled softly, and the smaller lump began to whimper. "Milou, are you tied up?" The dog slowly crawled on all fours, showing that he was free. "Good. Come over here and chew through these ropes."

Milou obediently trotted to his owner and worked on the ropes, chewing it until Tintin quickly lifted his hands and massaged them. He crouched over to Winter and took out a pocket knife hidden in his shoes.

"How does Milou know what you're saying?" Winter asked, while he was cutting through her ropes.

"Dunno, really. We're just really close, and this happened to us before countless of times." She nodded in agreement, but still did not quite understand. But, one will never understand the meaning of true friendship fully.

"Done." He said in triumph, and Winter stretched her legs and arms. He then cut the ropes that were tightly bound to his legs, and Winter assisted him in getting up. "Winter, look around to find any weapon, like a gun or something. And hurry."

She ran around the room, and found a couple of guns strewn on the floor. "Tintin! There's guns over here." He pace over to Winter, and picked them up. There's only three that have bullets. Here, take one just in case." She carefully picked it up from Tintin's hands, and admired it as this was her first time seeing and touching a real gun. When she looked up, he was already across the room aiming the gun towards the door. A 'BANG' was heard, and Winter covered her ears. "Winter, come here! We have to go before someone comes-"

"Why hello! Going somewhere?"

A gentleman was at the entrance, and Tintin fell back and stood in front of Winter protectively. The man chuckled and thumped his cane lightly.

"My name is Lanav. How are you today?"

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><p>Thank you for the reviews! I hope you guys review more.<p>

See you on chapter five! ;)


	4. Chapter 4 The Man Named Lanav

Heyo!

Thank you to all who have been sticking and reviewing to this story! I appreciate it so much. :)

I'll answer all of the anon reviews on the next chapter!

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><p>Three men followed the person who named himself Lanav, and Tintin was backing up further to Winter. Tintin checked his surroundings once more; the room he was in seemed like a storage for gunpowder. He then moved his eyes towards the floor and noticed a pencil-sized twig. A window was on his left, and he mentally nodded to himself.<p>

"Winter Rose Brimnings… Is that your name?" Lanav sneered. "Finally I have captured you. You don't know how long I have been waiting."

Winter had the face of determination, but her fear was still present. "How do you know my name?" She asked, creasing her eyebrows. Her voice quivered.

"Little girl, you still don't know what has happened to you? Surely you do." He snarled impatiently.

"You mean… Going back through time?"

"_Yeeeees_!" Lanav hissed, progressing closer to her and Tintin. "_I_ am the one that has transported you back to this time; _nineteen fourty-six_. Ten years it has been, ten years! Nineteen _thirty_-six was the year when I took you here. I've aged, and I don't have much time left. You are my _key_ to success, do you know, young one? Now be good and come over here, and I won't hurt you or your uninvited friend…"

Tintin raised his gun and pointed it at Lanav in a brave and sturdy way. "I am a journalist. My name is Tintin if you don't mind."

Lanav nodded sarcastically. "Ah! That one reporter everyone has talked about? The famed one that is known across the universe? I've heard you were a bit older and muscular, but…" Lanav looked at him from his shoes to top of his quiff. "Never mind that. Now Winter Rose, come here. I will be friendly-"

"Winter, don't go. I'll protect you." Tintin said, cutting in. Winter crossed her arms and scoffed. "Don't worry, I haven't had the slightest intention to."

Lanav sighed and pointed to them. "Very well then. Go capture them, you three. Do whatever you want to the boy, but _do not_ hurt the girl!" He walked out, and the three men proceeded, snarling their yellow, rotten teeth.

"Winter, I've got a plan," Tintin whispered, his gun still raised. "Do you see those barrels? Shoot a hole in one of them. They have gunpowder inside. There's a stick over on your right, and use it to make a fire. Break it in half and rub one on the other. Do you understand?"

Winter nodded and ran over to the barrels urgently, and aimed her gun. She pulled the trigger, and a loud 'BAM!' echoed through the room.

One man charged at Tintin at full speed, but he carefully maneuvered under the man's legs, which caused the person to unbalance over his thick stomach. Tintin quickly grabbed an empty whiskey bottle strewn on the floor and gave a sickening whack over the head, and the beefy man doubled over unconscious. Tintin turned over and spotted another, who was positioning himself to shoot. He dodged just in time before the bullet came, and it flew right across Winter's face, giving her a shock. "Sorry Winter!" Tintin shouted, kicking the gun out of the lanky man's hand. "No worries, I'm fine." She replied, rubbing the broken twig. She grunted in distress and finally caught a fire.

"Oi! Tintin! You haven't told me what to do with the fire yet!" Winter stated, holding the fiery red flames at an arm's length. Tintin gave one punch, and the skinny man tipped over. He briskly ran over to Winter and grabbed the stick containing the fire.

"Run out the window. _Now!_" Tintin bellowed, throwing the fire to the barrel. Winter saw yet another lieutenant marching to them, and Milou rushed in to save the day. The small dog barked and fiercely dug his razor-sharp teeth into the fellow's ankle, using a low yelp from the man. She ran to the window, holding her arms out as a shield as she crashed through the piercing glass. Tintin grabbed Milou and ran after her and took a high jump. A sickening 'BOOM' followed, and they safely fell into a soft bed of leaves.

"How lucky _are_ we?" Winter thought out loud exasperatingly, running her hands through the aged leaves. Tintin chuckled, bringing his hand through his stubborn tuft of ginger hair. Milou barked happily, leaping from Tintin's hands and trotting around them. She began to unknowingly smile gratefully at him until she noticed his arm.

"Oh my god! Tintin! Your wound reopened!" She said worryingly, reaching out a hand to touch it. The blood was soaked on Tintin's coat in which she gave back a while ago. He recoiled back from Winter's contact and covered it with his hand. "I'm fine, Winter. And if you don't mind," He said, looking over at a horse. "We need to get there by using that." She frowned at him and turned with his direction.

"But I don't know how to ride them!" Winter exclaimed, pointing to it. "Why can't we just walk instead?"

He sighed and slapped his forehead in annoyance. "They will figure out that we've escaped anytime soon-" Tintin whirled his head around and widened his eyes. "Great snakes! Here they come."

Distant yelling began to come closer.

He grabbed Winter's arm and dragged her to the stallion that didn't look so eager. "Climb on. C'mon, hurry! Lanav is coming after us! Milou, up!"

She gasped and quickly pulled herself up with Tintin's assistance. He then picked up the dog, swiftly kicked his legs up, and hopped on, much to Winter's surprise. "Heeyah!" Tintin yelled, pulling on the rope that was secured to the black horse's mouth. It whinnied furiously and galloped with great speed. It caught Winter off guard, and she was about to fall off until Tintin wrapped his legs around hers. She pushed herself back up and slapped Tintin on the back. "And I owe you one again!" She exclaimed.

He yelped at the fierce blow and glanced at her with his grey-green eyes. "What was that for? You hit harder than I thought!"

She laughed in amusement and carefully held on at the edges of Tintin's coat, not getting too close. "Sorry. Bad habit of mine. But it's alright, punching and slapping playfully is my way of expressing friendship and love!" She said, grinning from ear to ear. Tintin shook his head and rolled his eyes, but a small grin was plastered on his face. "You are the weirdest and most improper girl I have met in my entire life." He declared. She frowned and slapped him on the back again, but this time in anger. "Now that wasn't a friendly slap at all!" Tintin snickered, much to his pleasure, and Milou, who was safely tucked in his jacket, yapped playfully.

She pouted and crossed her arms, causing her to lose her balance once again. She let out a muffled scream and hugged onto Tintin. "Sorry Tintin! Aha… You'll have to bear with me. No feelings, Tintin! Just good friends, right?" Tintin nodded in agreement, and spoke. "Yup, _les meilleurs amis_."

"Is that French? What does it mean?" Winter asked, playing with his narrow, black tie. Tintin looked back at her and smiled. "It means horrible enemies."

"Well fuck you too!" She shrilled, punching him lightly on the stomach. She suddenly froze and began to poke at him. "Woah… I thought you were skinny and all, but you actually have abs!" She proclaimed. Tintin squirmed and tried to rub Winter off. She stared at him weirdly, and realized that he was trying to hide his giggles. "Hey, Tintin… You're ticklish, aren't you?" She said creepily, a smirk crossing her face. She began to wiggle her fingers around his middle while laughing evilly.

"Pffft-Stop, Winter! AHAHAHAHA! STOP IT, PLEASE-" The horse let out a whinny, which followed with a swerve to the right, and Tintin pulled the rope to the left to bring them back on track.

"Yeah… I think I should stop now." Winter said, starting to become bored. "Go to sleep then," Tintin suggested. "Aren't you tired?"

Winter grunted in denial, but her eyes began to droop. "My butt aches…" She mumbled, and fell asleep. Tintin gave her a strange look and chuckled softly.

All became silent with the only sounds of the repeating _clack, clack, clack _of the hooves. He breathed out heavily, and stared at the beautiful setting sun.

"_Dors bien, petite sœur_."

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><p>"She is just absolutely <em>adorable<em>!"

"_Vous avez dit que des millions de fois déjà._"

"Really, Mr. Hatfock! You should at least try to speak a little of English! Mr. Tintin, this girl doesn't know French, am I right?"

"Right, Ms. Castafiore."

Winter woke up to a conversation that was faintly heard. She stretched wondrously and scratched her head, smacking her lips because of the nasty morning taste. She curiously opened her eyes, and saw a grand room, covered with newspapers neatly placed in picture frames. It felt like what had happened to her in just a time span of two days was a dream. 'A wonderful dream, adding to that.' She thought, getting out of the bed. Winter realized she had a fancy and long maroon nightgown on, and thought who put it on for her. Winter tiptoed out the door and met a staircase on her left. She hopped down, and followed the sounds of the talking.

"And you would _never _know what happened at the ball! I was planning to do a masquerade- Ah! Why hello there!"

A plump woman beamed at her, and next to her was a man with a black beard who seemingly looked like he didn't want to sit there. Tintin was sitting on a cushioned chair and twisted his head to see Winter. "Good morning! Did you have a nice sleep? You were drooling on my back yesterday, so I assumed you did…" He said, giving a smile.

Winter pouted at him. "Well gosh, Tintin. You don't need to speak the details..."

The man faced Winter and spoke, looking as if to find words."Er... Hullo! My name is Haddock. Archibald Haddock." He said with a thick accent, walking over to her. They shook hands, and Winter introduced herself. "My name's Winter Rose Brimnings, Mr. Haddock."

"_Capitaine _Haddock."

"Oh, right."

"_Bonjour _!_ How _nice to see you, Winter Rose! Beautiful name, I would say. Anyways, my name is Bianca Castafiore. I'm holding a masquerade ball this Saturday! You'll be one of my star guests! Well, you will come, won't you?" She said, with a tune waving in her voice. "You too, Mr. Tintin, Mr. Hatsock!"

A small mumble from the captain was heard, and Winter caught it faintly as "It's Ha. Dock!"

Winter looked at them in confusion, and shrugged her shoulders uselessly. She turned over to Tintin, finding him hauling Milou up to his lap. "Hey, Tintin. Is your wound tended to yet?" He looked back at her and gave a dazzling smile. "Mhm. Capitaine Haddock did it for me." His face suddenly lit up, as if he had just remembered something. "Oh, Capitaine! It seems like professor Calculus is not here right now. When will he come back?"

Captain Haddock's froze, and his face turned grim. He slowly arched his head to Tintin's direction, and slowly took off his hat.

"He… I haven't seen him for so long."

Tintin frowned at Haddock and rested his arm on the armrest. "Wait, what? Tell me what has happened." Captain Haddock scratched his head, and let out a sigh. "I was out at a pub and came back at around... uh... blistering barnacles I can't remember a thing... and I saw Calculus getting into a car."

Tintin nodded for him to go on. "I called out to him 'where are you going?' and he said that he was fine and was going to go somewhere I don't need to know."

It became silent as a graveyard in the living room. The fireplace crackled, causing Tintin's eyes to sparkle with fiery drops of blue and green. "That's strange. Do you guys think... He's been kidnapped?" Bianca Castafiore and Captain Haddock gasped, and Winter stared in confusion, clearly not knowing who Calculus was. Tintin quickly got up from his seat and let the small terrier free. "I... I think I'm sure. Usually Professor Calculus wouldn't hear you, right?"

"...Thundering typhoons, that's right!" Haddock exclaimed, slamming the couch with his fist. "I was actually far away from him. I had to yell out, and considering I was drunk, I might have been mumbling."

"Well." Tintin began to walk out to the front door, with Milou following behind. "Wait, where are you going?" Winter yelled after him. He gave her a quick glance but still kept his pace. "To Professor Calculus' laboratory. Go upstairs and get ready to leave. I'm just going to get some clues for now."

As he was about to close the door, Winter ran out to him. "You're going to wait for me, right?" Tintin gave a reassuring smile, and picked up Milou.

"Of course, Winter."

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><p>Did you guys like it? Please review!<p>

Oh, and for this chapter, I HAVEN'T INTENDED ANY ROMANCE YET. Just saying.

See you on chapter 5! :)


	5. Chapter 5 The Autumn's Murmur

HEYOOOOO!

Sorry, I'm in a good mood today. Thank for the reviews, you guys!

**Anonymous Reviews…**

Tintin is awesome: I see you think Tintin is awesome? I AGREE TO THE UTMOST. Thanks for reviewing! I hope you'll keep reading it! ;D

ZULY, zuly, zuly cajero, zulema cajero (I guess you guys are all the same? AHAHA.): Thank you for reviewing! I hope you are catching up to my story, though! :)))

DaftMau5Prime: Thank you! LOL. I'll update as soon as possible!

natalie wwq: Strangely awesome? Ahahaha! Nice way to describe though! I like it! :DD Thank you for reviewing! And I've been reading the comics. I agree, all of us could say the strangest things… LOL. Yes, Tintin is not good around girls, but he isn't **completely** clueless! I mean, he notices when girls flirt with him and such, but he's just a little- scratch that, very awkward! But what I'm trying to do is to make Winter and Tintin to have a brother/sister relationship first. Then after a while comes the romance! :) (Note, I said a while.)

Ondyne: Well, you got that right! Ahaha. But it won't be what you expected. Hell yeah, he's a naïve boy! LOL. That's why we love Tintin so much! Thanks for reviewing! ;)))

Digimonfan: Yeah, I changed it! Thank for telling me though. Criticism isn't rude, don't worry. Thank you for reviewing, though! I hope you'll keep reading my fanfiction. ^^

(No name! Why?): I appreciate your criticism! Thank you for telling me what's wrong with the story, you're helping me improve very much! Thank you for reviewing! :D

Ace Reader: This is one of your favorite stories? Oh gosh, ahaha… O/O Thank you for reviewing! LOL. And let's hope we'll get our dear Professor Calculus back!

Thank you for all of the reviews you guys! All of you always manage to make my day.

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><p>"Uh..."<p>

Winter stood there uselessly, scratching her head while darting her eyes around the room she had just slept in. She was clueless in where her day clothes were hidden, and she thought of who it would be. Footsteps were then heard, and Winter turned around to find Bianca Castafiore standing right behind her, holding the light blue-green dress, cardigan, socks, and the familiar pair of the brown Oxford shoes.

"Ah! There they are. Thank you, er..." Winter realized she had forgotten the woman's name, and stared at her blankly. The lady laughed loudly and melodically, causing Winter's ears to ring and ache. "My name is Bianca Castafiore. You can call me Miss Castafiore, if you'd like. That's how you say it in English, am I wrong? Now," She handed over the bundle of clothing to Winter and ushered her into the room. "Hurry up and change. I have a little something for you. Knock when you're done, _l'enfant_!"

Before she could reply back, Ms. Castafiore shut the door in Winter's face and hummed a tune that she knew distinctly as 'In the Blue of the Evening'.

Her mother always introduced her to unfamiliar classic songs, and amazingly, she fell in love with them as soon as she heard the pieces. Winter never fancied listening to the pop culture nowadays. She always that they were too 'fast-paced' and the lyrics were 'just plain perverted'; but there would be a song or two that would appear now and then that would capture Winter's attention. As quickly as she thought, she was already changed into her outfit, and walked to the long mirror on the wall to her right. She observed herself, and noticed that her eyes were a bit different. 'Probably more adventure-seeking,' Winter thought, noticing the faint glint. 'and a little curioser, too.' She giggled to herself as she noted to herself for the umpteenth time that 'curioser' wasn't a word. It was only a gibberish word that she had gotten from her beloved 1950's animated movie 'Alice in Wonderland'.

"Well maybe I am a little... pretty..." She said out loud, doing a ballerina-like twirl and causing her dress to poof out, showing the white frills underneath. Winter then thought of Betty, the young woman she met a while back, and her self-confidence plummeted drastically. 'But if only I was as beautiful as her... But whatever! It's not like looks count! _And _you're not trying to look for guys, Winter! Look for _adventure_! _ADVENTURE..._' She thought furiously, mentally scolding herself. Winter stomped to the closed door, still in her thoughts of fury, and knocked two times. In a flash, the door swung open as if a tornado had hit it, and Winter quickly jumped out of the way and plopped on her bottom.

"_Oh non_! _Je suis tellement __désolé_!"

Ms. Castafiore eagerly aided Winter back to her feet, and patted the dust off of her behind. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I couldn't help it..."

"Erm, it's alright." She mumbled, re-clipping her barrette that sat on her right side of her head. Ms. Castafiore beamed at Winter, and pushed her to a chair. "Now, I've been looking at what might look good with your beautiful hair, and I have just the right thing!" She pulled out a silk maroon ribbon and a fancy comb.

"This ribbon and your dress are a perfect match! Now I just need take off that barrette and comb your hair... Oh mon dieu, it's so tangled..." Ms. Castafiore murmured, making her way through the maze of the brown hair. "Valaa! Good as new. Your hair is very straight m'dear!" She exclaimed. She then fumbled with the ribbon, and tightly pulled Winter's hair back. A few minutes later, she tapped Winter on the shoulder to notify that she was finished. Winter nervously walked to the mirror, and smiled at the sight. It looked beautiful; up on the crown of her head was the ribbon that was neatly tied into an attractive bow. The two endings of the ribbon tumbled down and ended at her shoulders, and the bottom half of her hair was let loose.

"Thank you, Ms. Castafiore! It looks wonderful."

She gave an approving smile and handed back Winter's clip. "Here, take it back. And I trust you are going to my masquerade ball tomorrow night? It's called 'The Autumn's Murmur'. Just to let you know though." Ms. Castafiore said, resting a hand on her chest in an elegant way.

"I'll try, Ms. Castafiore." Winter responded with a small smile. With a wave and a friendly hug (in which Winter did very awkwardly), she noticed Captain Haddock sitting at the couch in the living room near the front door. "Um, hello..." She then took a shot and tried to say 'Captain' in French. "_Capitaine _Haddock. I'm going to leave right now, so I'm just giving you a 'goodbye'..." Captain Haddock looked up from his newspaper and gave a whiskery smile. "Good luck on going back to where ever you came from. Tintin said you aren't originally from here, and you're trying to go back. But that darned boy won't tell me. Well! It's probably not to be meddled with. Goodbye, lass!" He said merrily. Winter grinned and walked to the door, but was stopped by an unfamiliar butler who suddenly appeared behind her, giving her a good fright.

"...I presume your name is Winter Rose Brimnings?" He said, his head and chest raised high. "Uh, yes." Winter replied, resting her hand on the handle of the entry. He then knelt down to her ear, and whispered quietly. "Steer clear of the blood-feathered hawk. Nasty thing. Always flocked with many others."

Without looking back at Winter, he assumed back to his position and marched away, balancing a wine bottle on a tray. Winter stared back at him with confusion, and slowly made her way out.

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><p>She stood at her spot, breathing in the fresh air of the morning dew. "Well, now to find Tintin-" Winter was interrupted by a call from the other side of the immense lawn.<p>

"Winter, over here!" Tintin yelled, stretching his arms to catch Winter's attention. She waved back to Tintin and jogged to him. He then disappeared into a building next to the fence bordering the property of the house, and Winter followed him in.

It looked like a science lab. There were clear glass bottles neatly placed on a wooden desk, and on the opposite table stood multiple jars of multicolored and unknown liquids. "So this is Professor what-do-you-call-it's lab?" Winter spoke, bending down to get an even eye-sight of a mysterious looking cup that held a goo-like substance. "Professor Calculus. He's very smart, but he has sort of a hearing disorder," Tintin said, pacing slowly around the room. "And it gets on my nerve sometimes. But, crumbs, it's not his fault." Winter ripped her eyes from the black pendulum that was slowly rocking from her push to Tintin's broad back.

"Hmm. You know, I noticed you don't use much profanity compared to your age. You're seventeen?" She asked softly. He abruptly froze, keeping his face turned away from Winter. "Uhm... yes. And you're sixteen, am I right? One year younger..." Tintin said, unusually quiet. Winter gave him a funny frown, clearly noticing his weird behavior. But he looked uncomfortable because of this conversation, so she changed the subject.

"Ahem... So! Did you find any clues yet?" Winter spoke, her voice raising to a happy tone. Tintin finally faced her and shook his head. "No, not yet. But sooner or later I... or _we _will. Speaking of the devil, it looks like Milou's found something..."

A tinkling of a bark sounded from the far end of the room, and the pair rushed over to see what the white-furred dog had found. Milou was pawing at a particular piece of ground, and Tintin bent over to have a closer examination. "What is it, Milou?" The terrier whined over and over, tapping it with his two front paws. "Do... you want me to pull the tile out?" Tintin said. Milou barked and wagged his tail excitedly. Tintin gave Winter a 'well here it goes!' expression and used a plate of thick metal to scrape the slab out. It was amazingly easy to do so, and he let Winter look below to see what Milou was yapping about. She spotted a crumpled piece of paper that was lying in the hole, and curiously lifted it up, scared that it might explode or release poison. Tintin quickly put the tile back in place and scooted next to Winter, crouching over her shoulder to have a look at the mysterious script.

"Tintin, thanks to your lovely dog, we might have just found the key to our problem..." Winter said, a sly smile edging on her face. "The decoder."

A dimpled beam appeared, and Tintin gently pulled out the paper from her hands. "You're right! This is great, Winter!" Tintin exclaimed, clapping his hands together. Tintin gratefully hugged his faithful Milou, and kissed him on the forehead. "_Bon garçon, Milou!_ Good boy!"

Winter once again softened her eyes at this adorable sight. She stood up and wiped off her knees from the debris."You're different from most boys I've seen."

Tintin looked up at her and let go of Milou. "How so?" He asked, copying her lead and getting up. Winter stared at him and sighed deeply. "Well, I don't really know. You're just more... erm... How do I say..."

'More attractive, yeah.' Winter thought. "More adventurous. I've usually heard that most men don't like to be a busybody usually." Tintin snorted and felt around his pockets. "Well you got that right. But unfortunately, I am." Winter bobbed her head up and down in agreement and raised a finger. "And that's why you're interesting. Wouldn't be surprising if you made an autobiography when you're older."

Tintin gave an uninterested grunt, and was focusing his attention on something else. He began to panic, fumbling through his pockets and repeating the cycle. "Erm, Winter? Is there by any chance that you're holding 'The Anachronism'?" She shook her head vigorously. "Nuh-uh... Please don't tell me you've lost it."

He slowly tilted his head up, then his pouting blue-green eyes. "... I don't have it."

It became_ very _silent. Winter's mouth hung open, and Tintin flitted his eyes around nervously. "...Lanav's men must have taken it while we were escaping. Either that, or I just dropped it."

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><p>"I'm not going to give up now. If I do, I won't get back to my time, and I'll be stuck in this period forever." Winter said nervously, biting her nails while strutting across the living room. The sun had already fallen, and the blooming waxing gibbous moon perked up from the dark mountains in the distance. Tintin paced the opposite way, mumbling to himself to what might have happened to the strange riddle. Captain Haddock, on the other hand, was sitting on the velvet chair while drinking a hot cup of Jasmine tea, eyeing the two.<p>

"Blistering barnacles! You kids are giving me a blasted headache! Now why don't we just sit down and talk this out?" Haddock bellowed, thrusting the empty cup to the table. "Good point..." Tintin grumbled, setting himself on the couch. "Now, Winter, where do you think Lanav could be right now?"

Winter wearily sat herself right at where she was standing, and criss-crossed her legs. "He could be anywhere. Why he could even be halfway around the world!" She said, scratching her head in agitation. "That damned Lanav... his weird name already proves himself to be a nuisance-"

"Lanav? What are you wonderful three talking about?"

Bianca Castafiore gracefully entered the room, her hair tied in a neat bun, and a trailing navy-blue night gown worn. Captain Haddock groaned and slapped his forehead, causing an arched eyebrow from Winter. "Do you know this man, Miss Castafiore?" Tintin asked, furrowing his eyebrows. She laughed with a piercing high-pitched tone, making Captain Haddock force his hands onto his ears and Winter to wince. Tintin, however, had no reaction. "Of course! I knew him when I set sail on a cruise ship to sing. He praised me for my voice," Miss Castafiore cooed, batting her eyelashes at the memory. "So I'm inviting him to my masquerade! But why do you speak of him?"

Winter and Tintin immediately locked their eyes on each other, smiling. "Er... Miss Castafiore?" They chorused together.

"_Oui?_"

"Do you mind us three coming to your ball tomorrow?" Tintin said. Captain Haddock burst out, furious of 'us _three_', but Tintin quickly covered his mouth.

"Of course, not! I would love to see your faces tomorrow! Ta ta, _Bonne nuit, vous trois! Je vous verrai demain beautés!_" Bianca Castafiore then broke into song, and went back upstairs to her room.

Winter sighed in relief, and gave a thumbs-up. "Let's take down that bastard Lanav!"

Milou barked and ran around in circles, Tintin smiled, and Captain Haddock was moping to himself, muttering to himself of what he was going to face. "Tintin, can I not go-"

"_Non!_ You have to! Where did the thirst for adventure go, Capitaine?" Tintin said, resting a hand on the man's shoulder. There was still no reply, and Tintin breathed out heavily. "Fine. You can drink all the whiskey and beer you want. But just don't get too drunk-"

"DEAL."

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><p>Bwahaha! I'm worked on this instead of homework. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Let's wonder what's going to happen at the masquerade on the nest chapter.<p>

See you on chapter six~ ;D

**_Please review you guys! I'll love you forever and ever and give you a virtual kiss if you'd want! _**


	6. Chapter 6 The Brainel'Alleud

The sophomores are taking the CAHSEE! Yay! I won't be going to school until about twelve, so let's see if I can finish in time.

And thank you for all of those lovely reviews! You guys are seriously the best.

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><p>Tintin woke up to the dazzling sunrays shining on his eyes. He fluttered his eyelids and rubbed them, yawning luxuriously. The sleeping form of Milou yelped and fell out of bed from Tintin's indirect push, causing Tintin to suddenly snap his eyes open, realizing what he had done.<p>

"Oh! Sorry Milou, I didn't mean to…" Tintin apologized, finally wide awake. The small terrier gave a forgiving bark and ran to his food bowl for breakfast. Tintin walked to the grand window, his bright mixture of blue, green, and grey eyes hazy, thinking of what had just happened over the past few days. The day he met Winter Rose Brimnings (unusual name indeed, he thought), when he was shot on the arm (painful, yes, but worth it for saving someone's life), and when he picked up 'The Anachronism'.

Tintin always had a peculiar and rare sixth sense for adventure, and that sense had pricked him the moment he touched that scrap of paper. "But what's _very_ weird is that Winter claims she's from the future. But it's probably true, since Lanav stated that also…" Tintin thought out loud, doing a handstand for his morning yoga routines. "And I just remembered, we're having a masquerade ball tonight! I hope we find Lanav so we can retrieve 'The Anachronism' back."

Milou finished eating and trotted over to the overturned figure of Tintin, suddenly whining furiously. "You want to go for a walk now? But it's only seven…" Tintin groaned, doing a one handstand to check his watch. Milou gave the irresistible puppy eyes that always worked on Tintin since he had first owned him. "No, don't give me that… No… I said no, and _that's final! _Aw, c'mon Milou! It's only seven… Ugh! Fine." Milou yipped in triumph, and Tintin sighed, pouting in defeat. "But I want to get Winter so I can show her around. She hasn't been outside much either."

Tintin changed out of his blue-striped pajamas into his blue sweater he had left in his unused closet a while back for an emergency (in case if he stayed over at Marlinspike Hall, and considering the situation now…). He came to the bathroom and stared back at his reflection on the water-stained mirror while he brushed his teeth, checking to see if there was at least a little hint of a mustache or beard. 'How weird… I thought a teenage boy was already supposed to have one…' Tintin thought, frowning to himself. 'Only Capitaine Haddock knows about my real age though. I wonder if I should tell the others sooner or later…' Tintin rinsed his mouth and quickly dried his face. Running a few strokes with his comb through the stubborn quiff, he checked his face once more to see if there was anything wrong, and trotted to Winter's room.

"Winter, are you awake?" Tintin called out, knocking on the closed door. There was no reply, so he couldn't help it but to peek in. There Winter was, sleeping like a bear. Tintin laughed to himself as he tiptoed over to her bed, carrying a nearby chair to sit next to her. Her hair was like a bird's nest, and the dried drool that ran down her chin was present. He chuckled softly again, and rested his cheek on his hand. He stared at her, and absentmindedly reached his right hand out to gently nudge her awake. Tintin did not realize that Milou was sitting at the doorway impatiently, and let out a loud and shrill bark to notify him.

Winter woke up with a start, sitting up abruptly. Tintin quickly coiled back his arm, and a tinge of pink appeared on the tip of his ears. "Ah! Ahem… You're finally awake. I came here to wake you up so I can show you around outside. Get ready," said Tintin, grabbing his coat and running out the door. "I'll be waiting in the living room!" He shouted back.

Winter sat on the bed while squinting her eyes at the doorway, confused as ever. She was dreaming about eating a cupcake, and then heard a loud bark. Then, she woke up to Tintin running his hand through his quiff, looking like he was trying to flatten it. His ears were red, and he muttered something about showing her around somewhere, and he was going to wait in the living room. "Sometimes I think Tintin can be a little strange…" She thought aloud, climbing out of bed. 'Oh well… I shouldn't be saying anything myself. I admit, I am a little strange at times.'

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><p>"I haven't ridden a bike in ages!" Winter exclaimed, peddling as hard as she could and breathing in the fresh air as it whipped past by her. "And is it all right to let Milou go without a leash?" Tintin glanced at his small running terrier, but kept his focus on the road in front of him in case his bike would run into something. "I trust Milou. We've been together for a while back."<p>

Winter nodded and fixed her maroon bow Bianca Castafiore had given to her the other day. It became silent between them, and she sighed loudly to break the tension. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"…Mhmm."

"…You're being an awful lot quiet today, Tintin."

"Well, I'm a bit nervous because we're going to find Lanav today." Tintin replied.

"Oh yeah, huh! I almost forgot." Winter said, scratching her head. "Anyways, where are we going now?"

Tintin suddenly peddled faster, his ginger tuft lapping in the air. "Just follow me. It's a surprise! Up, Milou, up!" Milou jumped onto Tintin's lap, and gave an unmistakable teasing yap to Winter. "Hey! HEY! Wait up! Gosh, people these days…" She yelled, pushing her legs as fast as they could go.

She gazed at the street laying in front of her in awe. Lined up closely together were neat, little gift shops. The cobbled street was peaceful, with an occasional car passing by, and pedestrians having an early day stroll. The sun was shining brightly, and the weather was just in the middle of scorching hot and freezing cold. "Welcome to Braine-l'Alleud, Winter Rose Brimnings. My favorite town; besides Brussels, that is."

"…Wow. Aha, just wow."

Winter was lost in her words, and jumped off her bike to look through the windows of the stores. She studied a feathered hat, lost in her thoughts. "…Hey. Tintin?" He seemed to busy looking after Milou, who was jogging around and craving attention from the passerby. Winter, still facing the window, began to unnoticeably stare at Tintin's reflection. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat. Brown eyes wide, she gripped the handles of the bike. Winter then fully realized that Tintin, was, well… good looking.

"What's wrong, Winter?" She jerked, surprised, and accidentally dropped her bike, leaving the echoing of a clatter sound. "Holy crap…! Uh, nothing's wrong. Nothing at all." Winter muttered, fumbling on her legs to haul it back up.

Tintin walked to the opposite side. "Here, let me help you." She looked up at him, and scratched her head. "Er, thank you." He pulled it up with one hand with no trouble at all, and gave Winter a warm smile. "I see you're very clumsy." She snorted and covered her mouth. "You should say, Tintin!"

They both fell back, lost in their world of merry laughter. "Hah, I'm not that clumsy. It's just because-"

Tintin abruptly stopped his words and grew red. She stopped giggling and slapped him on his shoulder playfully. "Why? Come on, you could say it! I won't laugh." He gave her an unsure expression, and puffed his cheeks.

"Well… I … er… need…" He blew out. "…Glasses." There was a pause, and Winter gave him a puzzled look. "Now may I ask why this is embarrassing?" He then turned scarlet and ran his hand through his hair. "It looks ridiculous on me! Look!"

Tintin pulled out a pair of glasses hidden in his pants pocket and wore them. They were round-rimmed, and were actually pretty normal. "They don't look that bad," Winter suggested, shrugging her shoulders. "I've seen worse. And when I mean worse, I mean worse-worse!" He shook his head in denial, and took them off before being seen by anyone else. "Anyways, I want to show you something."

Tintin grabbed her arm and pulled Winter with him, leaving the bikes behind and urging Milou to follow them. "It's the best place to eat breakfast." Tintin stated, walking a little faster. Winter realized she actually was hungry, since she hadn't eaten dinner the other night. They met an alleyway that was narrow. But it wasn't the creepy and unwelcoming type; overgrown tangles of leaves and violet bell-flowers hugged the walls, and dips of sunlight occasionally seeped through the quivering trees towering above. Winter wondrously took in the sight, mesmerized at the spot. "Gosh, Tintin. How do you find these kinds of things? You really are wonders." She said, slowly taking her steps. Tintin smiled, hearing a compliment. He whistled quietly, but cheerfully, as he followed Winter's footsteps and let her go her own pace.

"Hey! Let's take a picture." Winter said, turning around. Tintin arched an eyebrow. "How are we supposed to do that? We don't have the equipment-"

"With my phone, my phone! Sheesh, technology did improve loads…" She mumbled, pulling out the cell. "What are you standing there for? Come here! And get Milou too." He clapped his hands and bent down to pick up Milou, and strode over. "Okay, one, two, three, smi-"

"WINTER! TINTIN! There you two are! We need to go back to Marlinspike Hall, NOW!"

Winter pressed the button and turned around. Tintin blinked, and Milou jumped out of his hands. "Capitaine Haddock! How did you find us? And why are you in such of a hurry?" It seemed like the captain was out of breath, and stuck out a hand and planted it on the wall near him for support. "We need to catch the plane to go to France. It's going to leave in thirty minutes! Blistering barnacles, actually twenty! _Vite! _We haven't got any time to lose!" Tintin and Winter looked at him in astonishment.

"Where are we going?" Winter asked, placing a hand on her hip. Captain Haddock groaned, tired of the unnecessary questions. "To Castafiore's party! Or masquerade, or whatever it is… But if you choose not to go, that'll be nice too!"

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><p><em><strong>Please read!<strong>_- This chapter in my opinion is more like a filler… The next chapter is the first climax of this story! So please stay tuned, alright? I'm so sorry that it took so long though... Forgive me!

See you on chapter seven!


	7. Chapter 7 The Moonlit Paris

Heyo!

I am so sorry that this came out so late. Yes, yes, I was procrastinating. But seriously you guys, I promised I would never give up this story until I finished it.

Oh, and you'll find out Winter's catch-phrase in this chapter! A tad-bit cliché, but it's alright. See if you can catch it!

Enjoy! ;)

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><p>"<em>Non, Capitaine! <em>We have to go!" Tintin yelled, running towards the bikes he and Winter had left behind. "You have a bicycle, right?"

"Of course, Tintin! Do you think I would run all this way? Blistering barnacles, I'm already losing my breath…" Captain Haddock said, huffing and puffing while jogging alongside Tintin. Winter picked up Milou and ran as fast as she could to catch up to the two. Another rusty-looking bike was next to Tintin and Winter's, and Captain Haddock sighed in distress. "They had NO bikes at all! So I had to use this one that I found at the side of the road… Well, at least it works-"

A wheel of the ancient bike creaked off, and the whole object broke down into pitiful pieces. "THUNDERING TYPHOONS! NINCOMPOOP! BLASTED OLD, WRETCHED, -"

"Calm down, Capitaine, calm yourself! Yelling won't help!" Tintin said, trying to hold back his laugh. "You could use mine. I can share the other with Winter." Winter scrunched her nose, thinking if how they both could fit on the bike. The ginger turned to Winter and put a hand on her shoulder. " C'mon, Winter! Don't make that face… No, I can't share it with Capitaine, he's a little too big to fit on it with me… We've ridden a horse together! You can do this too!" She groaned and scratched her head in fury. "Then how are we going to do this?"

"Simple," Tintin exclaimed, bringing the blue-rimmed bike over to Winter. "Stand on these two things protruding on the back wheel. Then hold on to my shoulders. When you get tired of standing up, you could sit down on the seat with me; yes, it's big enough. And hold onto my waist."

Tintin did not notice the faint blush that crept on her cheeks due to the ridiculous thought of clutching onto him, scared of falling off and breaking her head to two on the cement whooshing past by. "Let's go. Milou, up! Up!" said Tintin, jumping on the bike and holding out a hand to Winter. "Hold on my hand when you climb up. I don't want you falling off and getting hurt."

She took his hand and held onto it gently, carefully lifting her legs up on the brims of the wheel. "Okay, I-I got on." said Winter with a jittering voice. She then rested her two hands on his broad shoulders, gripping it tightly. "Capitaine, let's go!" Tintin pedaled as fast as he could, clearly trying to get to Marlinspike Hall on time. Winter let out an inaudible squeak and quickly squatted down to sit behind Tintin. "My legs are getting tired already, haha, haaa…" She said, holding onto his waist. He shook his head and laughed, going faster by the second.

'Ugh, and this is why I don't favor boys…' She thought tastelessly.

"_Bienvenue à Paris, la plus belle ville du monde." _ The air hostess said cheerfully, gracefully holding out a hand to the exit of the airplane.

Winter stared at the woman in confusion. "What in the world did that lady just say?" She whispered to Captain Haddock, still keeping her eyes on the escorting woman. Captain Haddock bent towards Winter and put a hand to cover the front of his mouth. "…Welcome to Paris, the most beautiful city in the world." He whispered lowly. "Ah," Winter replied, getting up from her seat.

"Capitaine! Winter! _Vite_!" Tintin said, his head reappearing from the exit. "You two are the last ones!"

"Alright, alright. We're coming now," Winter growled, stomping to the exit.

"Have you been to Paris before, Tintin?" She asked, following him out to a somewhat busy airport. He stopped and stood there to let Winter catch up to him. "…Now and then. I don't favor going out of Belgium if I don't have a reason-"

"TINTIN! WINTER ROSE! OVER HERE!"

Winter and Tintin both whipped their heads over to the screeching voice at once. "It's Bianca Castafiore! She probably caught a plane before us and came here earlier…" He said, staring at the woman approaching them and the other middle-aged women walking by her side. "_Les femmes, c'est Tintin et Winter Rose Brimnings. Winter Rose et Tintin, voici quelques-uns de mes amis qui je invité à la mascarade!"_

"_Plaisir de vous rencontrer, Mesdames."_ Tintin said in a polite tone, adding a warm smile. The ladies murmured among each other, eyeing Tintin from the top of his quiff to the bottom of his shoes. They then moved their eyes towards Winter, who was nervously twiddling her dress. "What did Ms. Castafiore just say, Tintin?" She said quietly, trying her best not to move her mouth. He moved his eyes towards her, but not his body. "She introduced us to them."

"Are you two engaged?" A young-looking woman spoke with a French accent, breaking the silence. Ms. Castafiore exploded with laughter and faced the one who spoke. "Honey, they have only met for two days." The group made 'Ahhs' and 'Ohhs' as they observed the two young teenagers in wonder. Tintin cleared his throat and grabbed Winter by the arm. "We have to go now, ladies. Goodbye…!"

"Remember, masquerade at seven-thirty!" Ms. Castafiore yelled back with a sing-song voice.

Tintin kept pulling her to the entrance of the airport and she took a glimpse outside. "Oh, wow…"

It was already becoming dark out, and the merry lights twinkled out in the distance. Women in all sorts of fancy outfits grandly strode past by, along with a couple or two. Restaurants and cafes were bustling with customers, and multiple colors were strewn across Winter's eyes. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Tintin whistled. "I was surprised too when I first saw Paris."

Tintin glanced down at Winter and kept a solid eye-contact, which to Winter, lasted an eternity. His eyes were reflecting the city lights with dashes of the familiar green and blue. It sparkled like the gleaming stars, mesmerizing Winter's dull brown ones. She immediately realized what she was doing and coughed purposely, waving a hand in front of her face. "Oh dear! I hate the smell of smoke…"

"… But no one's smoking here, Winter-"

"Ooooh! Cake!" She blurted out, running to a food stall decorated with fake autumn leaves and blinking lights. "Tintin, do you have money right now? I want to eat some!"

He sighed and fished a wallet out of his back pocket. "Which one do you want, Winter?" She beamed at him and faced the rows of cakes. "I want…" Winter trailed off, darting her eyes at all of the delectable sweets. "That one, please!"

She pointed a pinky finger at a mocha-flavored cake, and Tintin spoke to the employee in French. The man cut a slice out of the cake and reached his arm over the counter to pass it to Winter. "Thank you, Tintin! You're a great friend!" She said happily as she dug into mocha-heaven. Tintin gave a small smile and thrust his hands into his plus-four pockets, studying his surroundings in pleasure. He then gave a glance back to Winter and saw her licking the crumbs off her fingers. "Y-you're already done?" Tintin shrilled, staring at the empty plate. She looked up at him and gave a wide ear-to-ear smile. "Sweets go fast when they're around me, Tintin, just to let you know."

The young friends walked around the nearby park, lights and distant jazz floating all around them. Winter sighed gratefully and skipped childishly to a wooden bench. Tintin followed her and sat down, keeping a considerable distance. She then noticed the space and pouted. "Sit closer! It's cold. And I don't smell THAT bad you know, although I took a shower… How many days was it?"

"Does the day that I saved you count? It was pretty far into eleven o' clock."

"Yes, yes, that one counts."

"Then… I think this is the third day."

Winter slapped the bench and gasped. "Only two days? Oh dear, what a short amount of time…" Tintin nodded his head in agreement and looked up into the starry sky. She noticed and did the same. They became quiet, wondrously staring into the pricks of light far away with the only sound of music happily playing somewhere far away. Winter then began to speak. "…You know, Tintin. The night sky won't be as beautiful as it will be now in the near future."

Tintin arched his head to stare at her in question. "How so, Winter?"

She sighed and brought her legs close together to her body. "Mankind will make the air around us polluted, and we will use too many artificial lights the see the stars."

He looked back at the multiple stars in the raven sky. "…How… awful."

Winter nodded her head in agreement. Tintin then suddenly remembered. He whipped his left wrist up to check his watch in fiery. "Great snakes, we're late! Ms. Castafiore told me to bring you to her so she could dress you up for the masquerade." He said quickly, standing up from the bench and urging Winter to come along.

She stood up and looked at him in question. "Dressing up… meaning a dress and hairdo and a mask?" She asked. Tintin nodded his head but then shook it. "Girls- well, females who are not married yet do not wear a mask."

"But why? And what if Lanav is there and sees my face? He'll probably recognize me!" Winter complained, widening her eyes in discreet horror. He pushed her along through the crowd. "Don't worry, I'll figure out something so he won't see you. I won't let Lanav get you Winter, I promise."

She sighed and scratched her head in concern. "…Oh, whatever. Let's hurry up before it's too late."

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><p>So again, I have been procrastinating over if I should write this chapter with the masquerade and whatnot. I decided; no. I will wait for the next week to post it up, since I know right now that if I'm in the lazy mood and I write a very very important chapter, I will make it utterly boring. Bear with my you guys!<p>

But thank you for all of those wonderful reviews. You all brighten my day! :)

See you on chapter 7 The Blood-Feathered Hawk!


	8. Chapter 8 The RavenHaired Girl

"Oh dear!" or "Oh my!" is Winter's catchphrase. I'm sorry that you guys didn't understand it! Once again, I'm so sorry.

Well, at least you have this to read! Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 8: The Blood-Feathered Hawk<p>

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><p>Ideal songs to listen to whilst reading this chapter:<p>

Sarah Vaughan- Stairway to the Stars

Glenn Miller- A String of Pearls

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><p>"I'm sorry, Ms. Castafiore, but that dress is a little too, err…a bit showy, I might say…" Winter said in a flustered tone.<p>

Bianca Castafiore slumped and flicked a finger to the woman who was holding up the black lacey dress that purposely showed cleavage. Winter looked down, feeling guilty because of denying ten dresses in a row. "I-I'm sorry, Ms. Castafiore, but can I just wear what I'm wearing right now at the moment? It is a dress after all…" She muttered, staring at the mint-colored casual.

"Deary, _non_!" Bianca screeched, standing up instantly and shaking her head slightly. "I saw this simple-looking dress in the back. Maybe you'll like it…" The somewhat plump lady strode over to a cart behind all of the flashy dresses. A pearly-white dress was hung alone and looked like it was there for a long time.

Winter's eyes brightened quickly as she ran over to the perfect article of clothing and snatched it. "This is amazing, Ms. Castafiore! I will gladly wear this." She yelled happily, waddling to the changing room. Without giving a second glance back at the woman, Winter pulled the drapes to cover the dressing room. She gave a delightful beam at the dress. It was satin and all white, with puffed sleeves and two moderately sized bows sitting on each shoulder. It had a somewhat wide, round opening in the front (though it did not show much cleavage, to Winter's satisfaction), and a white sash was wrapped around the waist right under the bosom. The sash ended in a bow on the back and left two long leftover strands of cloth to tumble down. The dress gracefully flowed down all the way to her ankles, and it did not poof out or have any multiple layers under. It was just a normal, typical, and simple dress that reminded Winter of a nightgown.

Winter quickly wore it and pushed aside the curtains. Ms. Castafiore stood up in awe and clapped her hands as if she had just watched a wonderful opera. "Bravo, Winter Rose, bravo! You look magnificent in that dress…!" She said, giggling and clapping her hands.

Winter laughed and scratched her head while turning red. "Thank you, Ms. Castafiore… So, am I done yet? Can I go…?"

Bianca shook her head and rested a hand on Winter's shoulder, slowly pushing her to a sanity. "Sit down, sit down! I need to do your hair first. Also to find your shoes." She said, pulling down the maroon ribbon that pulled back Winter's hair. She pulled out a brown comb with roses delicately painted on its front and began to brush.

Silence developed loudly, ringing in their ears and around the room. Ms. Castafiore, who never could keep quiet for more than a second, quickly talked.

"…Are you thinking of marrying yet?" said Bianca. Winter was about to pull back with a horrified expression, but remembered that Ms. Castafiore was doing her hair and was to remain undisturbed. "Err, I haven't thought about that… I'm only sixteen." Winter said reluctantly in a quiet tone. She flattened down her pearly white dress in a scruffy manner as Bianca spoke.

"You know, Winter… This is the first time I've seen _him_ bond with a… a _girl_."

Winter scrunched up her face in confusion. "Him…? Him who?"

"You know very well who I am talking about, _petite abeille_." Ms. Castafiore said as a matter-of-factly. "…I… know there is something about his past that made him so, well, adult-like. I precisely remember Capitaine Haddock mumbling and rumbling about Tintin being a lone boy walking around the streets with a shaggy small terrier."

Winter pursed her mouth and stared at Ms. Castafiore through the mirror. "Did he mutter anything else?" She asked curiously. The woman wove the young girl's hair in a bun and used a rubber band to tighten it. "I also distinctly heard something. Something having to with a month… I forgot if it was April… Or it could be August… Or October… Oh dear, my head's hurting again. Ah! We're finally finished." Ms. Castafiore said, shooing Winter from the chair and out to the staircase leading down to the party.

"There is a glass door leading out to the garden. There will be the party! It seems that Tintin will perform on stage any minute now. It _is _exactly eight o'clock," She said, hearing the grandfather clock chime. "Now, _vite, _my darling! You musn't be late!"

-x-

"No thank you, erm, I don't drink alcohol." Winter denied, pushing away a glass cup. A young gentleman wearing a red elaborate mask shrugged his shoulders and walked away briskly to court other more-willing girls. Winter cleared her throat nervously and brought a cup of orange juice to her mouth. "Oh dear, why am I so awkward…?" She asked herself.

Winter looked around her surroundings. It was already ten minutes, and she still could not find Tintin anywhere at all. Of course, she thought, she wouldn't be able to spot him since he would be wearing a mask (like every other young man did).

Her thoughts were suddenly disrupted by an announcement voiced by a flirtatious and feminine woman. Though it was spoken in French, Winter heard the lady say a familiar name.

"_Mesdames et Messieurs! S'il vous plaît bienvenue à notre invité beau qui est prête à jouer son saxophone pour nous ce soir! Donnez Tintin une salve d'applaudissements!"_

"…Tintin?" Winter whispered, walking toward the crowd near the stage to get a better look. There he was, standing erect and smiling handsomely and proudly at the spectators.

"_Je vous remercie, mes belles amies," _He said, bowing down politely. The crowd's clapping and shouts eventually died down, and the music started. The violins, the flutes, and the trombones- everything played in perfect harmony. Winter smirked and quietly observed Tintin who was smiling widely, still not noticing her.

"Let's see how long you are going to be clueless, quiff-boy." She scoffed, crossing her arms.

-x-

A raven-haired and rather young-looking girl walked briskly among the crowds, trying to get a better look at the boy on the stage. Her eyes were a cloudy grey, big and mentioned as 'adorable' from the spectators who had first met her. Her hair swiveled down in curls and was quite long indeed and looked like it had been nurtured and cared for very well.

"Move out of my way- Move!" She said, scrunching her face in fury. "I said MOVE!"

The men and women watching glanced back for a moment, sighed, and stepped to the side to let the girl get through. "That was about time," She said, scoffing. "Now why does that boy look so familiar?"

He began to play his solo, the notes hitting the exact tone and his movements flowing with the beat of the music. His saxophone shined brilliantly in the limelight and twinkled with a merry tone. The girl smiled widely and cupped her hands up to her powdered cheeks. "Oh, what a fine-looking gentleman." She whispered.

She watched with awe until a burly man came behind her and cleared his throat. "Ahem… Young Mistress Valerie, your father Mr. Lanav wants you to see him _right now._"

She stomped her foot and crossed her arms. "Valerie _this_, Valerie _that_," she whined furiously. "When does he leave me alone?"

The man, in response, backed away while looking at the floor in a fancy manner and quietly walked away. Valerie took one more glance at the ginger and thought while clacking away. 'I'm sure I've met him somewhere before…'

-x-

"I never knew you played the saxophone!" Winter said exasperatedly. "That's amazing!"

Tintin laughed happily as he straightened his sky-blue mask with diligence. "I wouldn't think you would be interested in such things."

Winter stared at him earnestly and smiled. She then suddenly remembered the purpose of being at the masquerade. "…Hey, did you spot Lanav yet?" Winter asked, darting her eyes to every man she could see. Tintin shook his head thinned his lips. "Nope. No clue, _yet_." He then widened his blue-green eyes in amazement and whispered in a deathly tone. "Winter, look over there. I think it's him!"

She whipped around and smiled happily. "Do you have a plan to get that scrap of paper back?" Winter whispered. Tintin licked his lips in thought and spotted Bianca laughing loudly next to her friends. He started to nod his head slowly. He then looked at a young-looking girl next to Lanav with rich black hair and a very fancy ball gown. She seemed grumpy while the man seemingly lectured her. Tintin nodded again quickly.

"Winter, do you think that girl next to him is his daughter?" He questioned, staring. Winter moved her eyes to the figure and shrugged her shoulders. "Probably. Their conversation kind of proves the point." She sighed, chuckling. The man and girl's voices became louder and louder by the second; audibly clear for Winter and Tintin to listen.

"I DON'T WANT TO MEET ANY BOYS—"

"Valerie, don't scream at me! You are already fourteen. You need to find a—"

"JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE MY FATHER DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ORDER ME AROUND—"

"VALERIE! Calm down. You'll be a blasted single if you keep being like this— Primrose!" Lanav suddenly called. A melodic "Yeees?" sounded out from a group of rich-looking women, and a lady with ebony hair walked out with an elaborate violet gown.

'How peculiar…' Winter thought. The woman triggered a memory far back in her head. A women by the name—

"Mrs. Lloyd!"

Tintin glanced at Winter confusingly. "What?"

Winter smirked profusely. "Never mind your plan, Tintin. I think it's _my _turn to have some action."

* * *

><p>Goodness, I have only been gone for a few months and there are so many new fanfics! Excellent! Well, this chapter is a bit short I might say. Fixed chapters and new ones coming up this week!<p>

See you on chapter 9! :)


	9. Chapter 9 The Red Feathered Hawk Preview

Hey you guys! Missed me?

*dodged rotten tomatoes and trash*

I'm sorry… Truth to be told, I became lazy. But I'm changing! Here's a preview for chapter 9. I'll be changing it to the full one by this week.

* * *

><p>"Mrs. Lloyd!" Winter called out as she pulled Tintin by his wrist. Lanav glared sharp daggers towards the teenagers, but could not do anything out of hand as his wife and daughter stood beside him.<p>

Mrs. Lloyd squinted at Winter, seemingly trying to grasp on her distant memories. She beamed as soon as she remembered and glided gracefully to Winter, holding out her arms for a hug. "My darling Winter Rose," Mrs. Lloyd chirped, giving a peck on both of Winter's cheeks. "How divine it is to see you here! I would never think of meeting you once again!"

The woman laughed elegantly as she moved her cloudy grey eyes to Tintin. "And is this the famed reporter everyone has been conversing about these past years?" She added happily.

"_Journalist_ Tintin, at your service," He said, emphasizing the adjective. Mrs. Lloyd hung out a gloved hand, and Tintin took it in his gently before kissing her slender fingers. Winter noticed Mrs. Lloyd trying to get a better look at his face. She then shrugged her shoulders, noting to herself that she did not care about Tintin's admirers and grabbed a cup of water from a nearby food table.

"You are a handsome gentleman," Mrs. Lloyd said as a matter-of-factly. "Are you planning to get married soon?"

Tintin's sky-blue eyes widened a fraction as he shook his head. "_Oh non, mademoiselle. _ I've never really thought of marriage, and I plan not to until I am emotionally and physically capable. May I ask why you are curious of this topic?" He said, a polite smile growing on his face.

Mrs. Lloyd giggled and took his hand in hers. "Well, if you say so… I was wondering if you are interested in marrying my daughter."

Winter spurted out water and laid the glass back onto the table, choking on the liquid in a rather comical way. Tintin's eyes opened wide once again at the suggestion, and he retracted his hand from the woman's and patted Winter's back in effort to help. "I-I'm sorry, Mrs. Lloyd, but I'm afraid that cannot be done…"

"It's alright, Tintin. But do talk to her! She is reaching her proper age for marriage, and you would make a wonderful spouse." Winter coughed harshly once again, earning a couple more pats from Tintin.

"I'm okay, Tintin, you can stop hitting my back now," Winter gasped, rubbing her throat in distress. "But that rather caught me by surprise, Mrs. Lloyd."

"I see that," She said, helping Winter straighten herself up. "Is it possible, though, that you two are…?" Mrs. Lloyd gestured towards the teens. Winter and Tintin glanced at each other and shook their heads violently.

"Well, you see Mrs. Lloyd…"

"We just met a few days ago and—"

"We sort of got mixed into a problem and now I'm helping her—"

"Or rather, we're both helping each other—"

"And we are more like siblings," Tintin finished off, resting a hand on Winter's shoulder. The young girl frowned thoughtfully and nodded her head.

"Ah, I see…" Mrs. Lloyd said, studying the both of them, as if trying to find a different answer. "But I don't suppose that you'll find it too troublesome to get to know my daughter?"

* * *

><p>More later!<p> 


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